Boys’ golf team reflects on first state appearance since 2014

The boys’ golf team advanced to the state tournament on Nov. 1 at the Mission Inn Golf Course in Howey-in-the-Hills in Central Florida. This was the team’s first appearance since 2014 and their current members’ first ever. After taking 2nd place at regionals, they placed 16th in the state.  

“It was the closest thing we could get to playing on a professional tour in high school,” junior Ronald Wolff said.

Golfers said that playing in the state tournament was much more intense and more was expected of them than playing locally. The way everything was set up and handled was much more professional and serious. The organizers made sure the boys didn’t fool around and acted professional with one another. If not, they could have gotten penalized. The experience allowed them to grow since they learned together as a team.

“There was so much more pressure and way more expectations. I wanted to do well for my team and [myself],” sophomore Vincent Disalvo said.

The players experienced a level of intensity, especially because there were scouts watching every move they made. Surprisingly, according to sophomore Anthony Petrillo, they weren’t really nervous, just excited to see what states was like for the first time. Wolf said he was nervous because he thought he wasn’t going to do well.

“We didn’t do as well as I wished, but it was a great learning experience,” sophomore David Miller said.

While finishing at the bottom of state standings, getting to the event was the real victory.  Sophomore David Miller said he is confident they will make it again next year; if they do, he knows what to do and what to expect. Miller felt he did pretty well because he scored 1st on the team but he also saw room for progress.

Sophomore Christopher Kane said the course differences proved a challenge for the team on the first day.

“The golf course at Mission Inn has different grass, different hills and a different design. At Davie Golf Club, it’s flat; over there, it was much more difficult and not what we were used to,” Kane said.

According to Kane, the first day wasn’t the best since none of the golfers stayed under 100 strokes. In golf, the goal is par, which is 72, so they fell short of their goal. From the first day, they knew they weren’t going to get a good placing, but they didn’t expect to fall to the bottom of the pack.

“It was overall fun to hang out with guys. Yeah, we didn’t place well, but it was a great way to make memories and I can’t wait for next year’s season to improve,” junior Thomas Hogg said.